more joint compound

spending time with these guys today,

and I am covered with sanded joint compound.

anybody know if it's ok to breathe joint compound?

who knew - joint compound?

joint compound...

 makes for great art

 as I found out in 

Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee's class this summer

(they also have a wonderful book for those of you that missed the class).

Here are some pics of the beginning stages of these two  pieces.

 I first etched basic texture into the wet compound...

 then tried to figure out what I saw in the compound

and added a bowl and pots with this nifty little sewing device.

anybody know what it's called -

used for tracing patterns I believe?

 then I rubbed in some black acrylic

 to get some instant lines.

time for an art break

 after the on-line plaster class was over

 a group of us who had only met on-line during the class

decided to have a party at my house and share our art endeavors.

check out the table above filled with our fun...

 and meet my new friends

Melinda, Jill and Jeanne

 above is Jill's beautiful book and homemade case

 and interior pages

 and a plaster piece.

check out her blog to see "the kraken" - just gorgeous.

 here is Jeanne's bounty of beauty

 and her crackled plaster cat.

 next is Melinda's adorable cat

 and frescoed scene - 

just love these colors!

ok the art field trip is over 

and back to finishing my pieces.

 thanks for guarding Matteo.

 the next steps involved trying to pick out

the shapes I wanted and

 then adding lots of paint layers,

rubbing them out,

etching in others,

adding buttons and paper

some stamping and gold leaf,

 and finally putting them in the vintage frames I found for them.

think they will stay here until I hang them up.

On a different note, 

would love prayers or good thoughts sent my son and daughter-in-law's way in New Jersey

as they wait for the storm to hit Saturday...

geesh they have had the weather.

painting in paradise

got to doodle while on vacation

 and just enjoy doing art without overthinking...

 I started these corgi and crow obsessions at my dad's

 and then got to overwork them

sitting at this beautiful spot with the sun and water

 and breeze - and the much needed daily iced latte.

I will try to finish them this week.

how about you - 

getting any doodling done this summer?

cut, stamp, paint, repeat...

 no words needed...

 like riding a bicycle...

 haven't done this in years...

 wanted to use the idea from this page...

 and threw together fun foam

for more dimension...

all to be added to this auction piece

which is due in a week -

and if I write about here

I just might finish it...

come back in a couple of days to see the end product.

there, I said it.

hold me fast

I decided it was time to get back in here...

 and to quit procrastinating

and simply create something,

anything will do really...

it was so easy to slip away from creating when 

I cut my finger way last june,

but come on - enough is enough - it is what it is...

it's been way too long creating for just me -

lots of paintings half done wait my attention to be brought to life.

I am constantly creating for my students

 and getting lots of paint time in that way,

but it's not the same.

 so I cleaned up the space -

we'll see how long that lasts...

 love this old mailbox which holds lots of my stash.

 do pencils and brushes and paint and art supplies

just make you weak in the knees?

 if so then you can understand my stash

and no place to store it all!

 I decided to tackle this collage/painting today.

It is cardboard with spackle and papers and stickers

done about 9 months ago - 

maybe it is time for birth...

voila,

 it ended up looking like this.

I call it  hold me fast

from Psalm 139.

it reminds me that God is holding me tightly

every day during this grief thing

(and I keep crying because 1/3 of my mom's ashes are arriving in the mail today -

hey she's coming for a visit - that makes me laugh at least)

 these buttons are from her button stash...

 and this pot looks like one she would have made...

and I just adore texture and could get lost in it.

maybe that's a good place for me to be right now.

art and fear

I am currently reading 

Art and fear - Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of ARTMAKING
by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

So far it hits home.

Here are some gems interspersed with my thoughts on current art work...

Artists don't get down to work 

until the pain of working is exceeded 

by the pain of not working.

-Stephen DeStaebler
At least for me that unfortunately can be too true.

Since painting is still near impossible because pressure on the scar 

(on 'that finger' as I am now calling it) sends me through the roof,

I decided to see if I could cut foam and carve some stamps.

gotta create somehow...

Making art is dangerous and revealing. Making art precipitates self-doubt, stirring deep waters that lay between what you know you should be, and what you fear you might be.  For many people, that alone is enough to prevent their ever getting started at all - and for those who do, trouble isn't long in coming. Doubts, in fact soon rise in swarms...

This is a whole different type of art for me. 

I would like to sell something on etsy this fall and hope that notebooks, 

bookmarks and handmade cards 

might work for gift sales pre-Christmas.

Art is like beginning a sentence before you know its ending.  The risks are obvious:  you may never get to the end of the sentence at all - or having gotten there, you may not have said anything.  This is probably not a good idea in public speaking, but it's an excellent idea in making art.

Here is my stamp stash ready to go and 

here are my first attempts at cards.

having fun anywho :} (get it - the owl below will say 'who')

Ordinary art means something like:  all art not made by Mozart.  After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people - essentially (statistically speaking) there aren't any people like that.  But while geniuses may get made one-a-century or so, good art gets made all the time.  Making art is a common and intimately human activity filled with all the perils (and rewards) that accompany any worthwhile effort.  The difficulties artmakers face (I like that term - artmakers) are not remote and heroic, but universal and familiar.

I like owls and will have to do some crows of course.

Art is made by ordinary people.  Creatures having only virtues can hardly be imagined making art.  ...The flawless creature wouldn't need to make art.  And so, ironically, the ideal artist is scarcely a theoretical figure at all.  If art is made by ordinary people, then you'd have to allow that the ideal artist would be an ordinary person too, with the whole usual mixed bag of traits that real human beings possess.  This is a giant hint about art, because it suggests that our flaws and weaknesses, while often obstacles to our getting work done, are a source of strength as well.  Something about making art has to do with overcoming things, giving us a clear opportunity for doing things in ways we have always known we should do them.  

I blogged about this same idea here.

I think this one will be a 'Jack and the beanstalk' and say 'once upon a time'...
At least I am having fun and trying not to overanalyze.
How about you?  
What art are you doing for fun this week?
The last quote I will leave you with tonight -

All you can work on today is directly in front of you. 

 Your job is to develop an imagination of the possible.

Doesn't that simplify it a little?